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Y’keta by Sandra Hurst

Banished. Cast out. Powerless. Y’keta is exiled to the small village of Esquialt as his father’s punishment for his rebellious spirit. Village tradition gives him one Cycle, from spring to spring, to earn the right to stay.

The villagers have a legend about mighty beings called the Waki’tani, mythical lords of the wind and lightning who can shapeshift into human form. Y’keta knows the truth behind these stories. Could there be more to them than just tales shared around the campfire?

If Y’keta reveals what he knows to the villagers, it will tear their history and traditions apart…but sharing his secrets may be their only hope for survival when Esquialt is threatened by the brutal, ferociously destructive Utlaak.

Loosely based on the Thunderbird of North American legend, Y’keta is an epic fantasy set in an ancient world where legends walk and the Sky Road offers a way to the stars.

Snippet:
D’vhan held out a wrinkled hand to the dejected Kit’na. “If you agree to be honest, with yourself and with me, I will count you as one of my warriors.” Grasping Y’keta’s wrist, D’vhan pulled with surprising strength, yanking the younger man to his feet and almost tumbling him into the surf. “You have a lot to learn about our ways. It will not be easy to put your pride away and learn as an adult what you should have learned as a child; but if you are willing, I will teach.”
Y’keta grasped D’vhan’s arm, forearm to forearm in the way he’d seen other warriors in the village greet each other. “I promise,” he said, “I will try.”
The grizzled hand clapped Y’keta on the shoulder and gave him an ungentle shove towards the forest. “Let’s get back to work then, young hatchling. Laban and Ren are not far ahead of us.”
“But didn’t you say we would meet up on the beach at sundown?” Y’keta queried.
“Laban and Ren will head towards the beach for nightfall,” D’vhan agreed, “but if they found anything in the forest, I want to see it before dark.”
“You sneaky old crow,” Y’keta spluttered. “You planned this just to find out about me!” “Exactly,” D’vhan cackled, the beads sparkling in his hair as he laughed. “Be wary of old crows. We are not as quick to fight as you young hawks, but infinitely more devious.

(D’vhan; Y’keta – The Sky Road Trilogy, Book 1)

Giveaway

Hi, my name is Sandra Hurst, the author of the Sky Road fantasy series.

As a child growing up in England stories and legends surrounded me, I learned how important imagination was. When I was 8, we moved to northern Canada and the legends changed. Stories of the Fae and the little people were replaced by legends of the Thunderbird and stories of the woodlands. I never stood a chance. What could I be but a writer?

Growing up in Northern Alberta gave me a great love and respect for the wild lands and indigenous cultures which made its way into the worlds I create. A mythmaker at heart, I started writing poetry in middle school and graduated to epic fantasy.
Myths give us a way to interpret the world past our normal experience. To ask questions and explore answers in a larger-than-life game of ‘what if.’ We need to make room for myths and mythmakers in our fact driven world. To give space for worlds that are brighter and clearer than our own. For it is in doing so, that we have room to become more fully human.

My first book, Y’keta, is loosely based on the Thunderbird of North American legend, Y’keta is a Young Adult, high fantasy set in an ancient world where legends walk and the Sky Road offers a way to the stars.

I now live in Calgary, Alberta with my husband and son, both of whom I love dearly, and have put for sale on e-bay when their behaviour demanded it. My day to day life is a balance between my outside life as a paralegal counsellor and my inner life as an author/poet. In between, I work on courses to improve my writing, learning the Cree Language, book reviews and blogging on my website, and studying mythologies from around the world.